Minister charges Heads of second cycle Institutions to be transparent

Madam Paulina Patience Abayage, Upper East Regional Minister, has charged Heads of Senior High and Technical Schools in the Upper East Region to make their administration more transparent to avoid unnecessary uprising from students and staff.

Madam Abayage explained away that the causes of the uprising of students and staff against management of their institutions were often as a result of the lack of inclusive administration and the free flow of information to the right stakeholders.

Madam Abayage made the call in Bolgatanga during a press briefing after a closed door meeting with heads of second cycle institutions to address the recent uprising of students in some senior high and technical schools in the region and to find ways of addressing the menace.

She said the failure of some heads to operate an open door administration to allow for students and their teachers to forward their grievances for redress make them see their heads as dictators and autocrats which usually brings about conflict in the schools.

She pointed out that students and teachers must be made to obey institutional regulations through fair and firm measures to give them fair hearings when need be.

Madam Abayage said school cadet corps must not be allowed to enforce regulations in schools, when the school has prefects, house masters and masters on duty.

She said it was important for students and teachers to know the challenges confronting the school which would allow both parties to appreciate the state and conditions in the school.

Madam Abayage urged the heads to organize periodic meetings with their staff in order to put across issues pertaining to the development of the school, and advised management to institute proper structures to promote discipline and information flow among others.

She called on parents not to relax in the up-bringing of their children just because they are in school, and further urged them to contribute their quota to the total development of their children.

The Minister disclosed that about three schools including the Sandema Senior High Technical, in the Builsa North district, the Saint Benedict Senior High Technical in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality and the Kongo Senior High School in the Nabdam district are schools closed down due to students uprising.

Mr Augustine Ayireyang, Upper East Regional Director of Education, called for proactive leadership among heads of institutions in the region to promote discipline in the schools and improve on the quality of education.

He urged them to adopt speedy ways of resolving issues arising from their schools to prevent them from escalating.